Halloween is always either too hot or too cold for trick-or-treating. October is always one of our most pleasant months, weatherwise, but by the end it either hasn't cooled off yet, or it has gotten downright cold. That's the way I remember our kids' trick-or-treating years. I bet a search of the weather archives would not support those statements. I bet Halloween is mostly a nice evening for ringing door bells in costume. This year certainly is.
While it hit 90 today, it is partly cloudy and pretty pleasant. However, by Sunday we will be in the low 70's. In the mountains, it will dip below freezing at night. So, with that in mind, yesterday we headed to Eagar to retrieve our trailer before the pipes freeze. We decided to take the long way, ie 191 from Safford to Alpine. It is a fine road when you have the time to enjoy the spectacular scenery as you wind your way from 4000' to over 9000'. It is deer season and every piece of level ground has a camp set up. We were driving through mid-morning, so everyone was in camp and the traffic was light. We even saw a group of 10 or so does and fawns grazing by the road. I guess nobody has been shooting at them, they didn't run far when we slowed to look. The forest still shows the effects of the Willow Fire, but for us, the open vistas it created add to the beauty of the mountains.
We had a beautiful orange sunset as we dropped into Salt River Canyon, but it was dark before we reached Globe. Too bad, as we like the views from Pinal Mountain and Dripping Springs. Last time we came that route at night we had numerous close encounters with skunks. This time we got a whiff, but no glimpses.
It was an enjoyable adventure-less trip. I found that I really can unhitch successfully in the dark.
Maybe next time I will try it with my eyes actually closed.
Oh, and we can recommend the burgers at Trailriders restaurant in Eagar. In front of Basha's. They use nearly half a pound of good Angus beef. We have had several meals there and the food and service is always good.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Monday, October 27, 2014
Ironic
Funny that in the last post I mentioned "cheaper than going to a movie," because that is exactly what I did last Thursday, instead of watching the solar eclipse for free. If you've seen one solar eclipse, you've seen them all, right? Anyway, I don't have safe sun-viewing goggles.
The cloud cover prevented us from sitting in the hot tub watching the Orionid meteor shower, but they (the clouds) made for a couple of beautiful sunsets that came just as I was burning meat on the grill last week.
Gotta brag on Peggie a bit. She submitted four pieces to a juried show called "Journeys" to be mounted at the JCC next month. They only had room for 35 pieces, and all four of hers made the cut.
We are very excited. This is her first juried show. To see pictures of the pieces, contact Peggie.
We are also excited for our niece. She and her family are moving to Iowa for a job offer that is too good to pass up. This will be a great adventure for them. We will miss seeing them as often as we have so far. But, we enjoyed the adventure when we moved far from home and family, and we hope they will, too. And since we intend to drive to New York several times, it will be nice to be able to stop at their place on the way.
The cloud cover prevented us from sitting in the hot tub watching the Orionid meteor shower, but they (the clouds) made for a couple of beautiful sunsets that came just as I was burning meat on the grill last week.
Gotta brag on Peggie a bit. She submitted four pieces to a juried show called "Journeys" to be mounted at the JCC next month. They only had room for 35 pieces, and all four of hers made the cut.
We are very excited. This is her first juried show. To see pictures of the pieces, contact Peggie.
We are also excited for our niece. She and her family are moving to Iowa for a job offer that is too good to pass up. This will be a great adventure for them. We will miss seeing them as often as we have so far. But, we enjoyed the adventure when we moved far from home and family, and we hope they will, too. And since we intend to drive to New York several times, it will be nice to be able to stop at their place on the way.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
No Reason to Get Excited...
A comet makes a close (87,000 miles) approach to Mars today.
How does it affect our lives? Not at all. Most of the world's population will not know it happened. And their lives will be no better or worse for it.
So, why is it interesting?
Well, it is quite literally a once-in-a-lifetime event. Maybe once in the entire human life span.
We humans take a great deal of interest in such events. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, avalanches, and any other natural event of large proportion, even if, as is often the case, we only know of it because of the news coverage. If not for news coverage, I would not now be aware of the Ebola outbreak. I only know Mars is there because I read. How many people on Earth never heard of Mars? Wouldn't know a comet if it smacked into their house?
But it is fascinating. I watched live streaming from a South African observatory. See, even if I had a large enough telescope at my house, I couldn't have seen it from here.
So here is the thing: We (humans) have several satellites, rovers, and telescopes that can be tuned to watch this event. First time in history this could be done.
I have read several accounts and watched several videos about this comet. It is somewhere between .5 and 5 miles in diameter. Hopefully, after all these instruments watch it, someone will get an accurate assessment of its size. Why? Because if it, or another one later, were to hit Earth, the difference is significant. Half a mile? Tungusta, Siberia, 1908. Devastation over a few square miles. Depending on where it hit Earth, maximum death toll, 10,000,000. A large number. Insignificant compared to world population of 7 billion. Five miles across. Yucatan, 65,000,000 years ago. Totally changed the climatic conditions of the entire planet. Likely death toll, everyone.
So it is interesting as an event for which it would be wise to be prepared. Right now, if this were aimed at us, all we could do is hope for the half mile size, and take comfort in knowing that it is statistically likely to hit unoccupied ocean.
So, anyway, I find it interesting. It left the Oort Cloud, another thing I don't need to know about, maybe a million years ago. It has been falling, unimpeded, into the Sun's gravitational pull all that time. Now, Mars, a relatively small, insignificant hunk of rock will totally change its trajectory, sending it back toward deep space. Mathematicians are now calculating the odds that these two objects would have interacted. Then they will calculate how far the comet will be flung before it once again succumbs to the Sun's gravity. Or, if its encounter with Mars will tear it to pieces. Or, whatever.
And you and I will live our lives the same. Regardless.
But this is as much fun as going to a movie. And costs less.
How does it affect our lives? Not at all. Most of the world's population will not know it happened. And their lives will be no better or worse for it.
So, why is it interesting?
Well, it is quite literally a once-in-a-lifetime event. Maybe once in the entire human life span.
We humans take a great deal of interest in such events. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, avalanches, and any other natural event of large proportion, even if, as is often the case, we only know of it because of the news coverage. If not for news coverage, I would not now be aware of the Ebola outbreak. I only know Mars is there because I read. How many people on Earth never heard of Mars? Wouldn't know a comet if it smacked into their house?
But it is fascinating. I watched live streaming from a South African observatory. See, even if I had a large enough telescope at my house, I couldn't have seen it from here.
So here is the thing: We (humans) have several satellites, rovers, and telescopes that can be tuned to watch this event. First time in history this could be done.
I have read several accounts and watched several videos about this comet. It is somewhere between .5 and 5 miles in diameter. Hopefully, after all these instruments watch it, someone will get an accurate assessment of its size. Why? Because if it, or another one later, were to hit Earth, the difference is significant. Half a mile? Tungusta, Siberia, 1908. Devastation over a few square miles. Depending on where it hit Earth, maximum death toll, 10,000,000. A large number. Insignificant compared to world population of 7 billion. Five miles across. Yucatan, 65,000,000 years ago. Totally changed the climatic conditions of the entire planet. Likely death toll, everyone.
So it is interesting as an event for which it would be wise to be prepared. Right now, if this were aimed at us, all we could do is hope for the half mile size, and take comfort in knowing that it is statistically likely to hit unoccupied ocean.
So, anyway, I find it interesting. It left the Oort Cloud, another thing I don't need to know about, maybe a million years ago. It has been falling, unimpeded, into the Sun's gravitational pull all that time. Now, Mars, a relatively small, insignificant hunk of rock will totally change its trajectory, sending it back toward deep space. Mathematicians are now calculating the odds that these two objects would have interacted. Then they will calculate how far the comet will be flung before it once again succumbs to the Sun's gravity. Or, if its encounter with Mars will tear it to pieces. Or, whatever.
And you and I will live our lives the same. Regardless.
But this is as much fun as going to a movie. And costs less.
Friday, October 10, 2014
To Montana and Back Again
Grandchildren exert a powerful draw. The opportunity to babysit was too good to pass up. Originally it was going to be T and j. T would rehearse and perform, and we would take care of j. Then, it got even better, as G and a arranged to join the party. So we loaded the truck and set out for Bozeman, MT, a place we had never been. Which, for us, is just one more reason to go.
We left reasonably early on Sunday with the goal of reaching Cedar City, UT for the first night's stay. The first surprise came at the junction of 89 and 89a near Page. The road (89) to Page was still closed due to the massive rock slide that I had forgotten about. So, we happily took the slightly longer route over the Kaibab Plateau. Along the way we had been treated to some beautiful fall colors, which continued to impress us as we entered the canyon north of Kanab. But the real autumn treat was route 14 to Cedar City. Every shade of yellow, gold, orange, and red alongside the evergreens and the multi-hued sandstone. And, to make it perfect, a deer in the road and a herd of elk in the woods.
Next morning we hit I-15 and headed north. The speed limit along the rural stretches is 80 mph. Apparently, that is fast enough for everybody, because with cruise control set at 80, nobody passed us. We saw beaucoup pronghorns (aka antelope) in the fields and rangeland all day. We also saw a school bus sailing along at high speed on a road parallel to the highway, but invisible due to the high grasses. It was weird. We took a scenic detour around SLC just for the fun of it, and got more beautiful fall color in the scenic canyons. But we missed a turn and ended up catching I-15 again in downtown SLC. Still, we arrived in Idaho Falls before dark and checked in to a hotel. It was right on the Snake River, which has a beautiful walking park along the namesake falls. We walked to a dinner place and back, arriving just after dark. After driving all day, a nice walk is perfect.
The plan for Tuesday was to arrive in Bozeman around 1:00pm. But we decided to detour through Yellowstone since it was so close. I have my old farts' card (aka Senior Pass) which gets us into national parks for free. Peggie also got one at the entrance, since she, too, is now old enough to qualify. In the park, we saw only bison as far as wildlife is concerned, but we stopped to walk around a hot spot called Artists' Paint Pots. Again, a nice walk, and, of course the name comes from all the mineral colors surrounding the bubbling waters. Exiting to the north, we encountered a construction zone that held us up for a while. We were having a nice conversation with the flag person about the strange people one encounters when a women from several cars back in line walked up and asked, "What's going on?" To which the flag person replied, "Just a little road construction." The young women countered with, "But they're telling everyone the road is open." The flag person informed her that the road was, indeed, open, but there would be a few minutes delay. The woman returned to her car. Where do people come from, who don't know what a construction delay is?
We exited the park at Gardiner (north exit) and caught the interstate at Livingston. West of Livingstone there are several domestic bison herds in pastures. Also taking advantage of the green fields along there were elk, deer, and pronghorn herds. Not domesticated.
So, we arrived in Bozeman about 5:30, much to a's chagrin. She wanted to see us at 1:00. Little j doesn't know the difference, so he was standoffish, anyway.
Wanting to be good grandparents, we had several child-friendly outings planned for our days in Bozeman. We tried to go to Lewis and Clark Caverns about 40 miles west but the caverns were closed for the winter. So we headed back with two sleeping children in the truck with nothing to show for the drive except learning that there is a breed of cow called a Red Angus. Who knew?
We decided to go east of Bozeman a few miles to the Montana Grizzly Encounter. It was a tacky little roadside attraction based on the owners' attempt to rescue grizzly bears from bad situations and to use them to educate the public. We observed four bears and heard all about the grizzly. They have an enclosure that is woefully small for bears, but large and natural enough that it is more like the Desert Museum than like other zoos. We got the idea they do the best they can with good intentions and limited funds.
Friday night, I got to go to the performance called "Wine, Women and Song." T played piano for a pair of sopranos and the audience tasted wines from Italy, Germany, and America, as music from those areas was performed. The setting was a private home on the edge of town. Very wealthy patrons of the arts.
Next day, we took the kids and G to the Museum of the Rockies. There, we learned about dinosaurs. That was a fun time for all of us. Even j found things to hold his interest. In case you didn't know, some of the dinosaurs were VERY BIG! That night, G and a and Peggie went to the performance while I sat with j. He was still being standoffish, but as soon as we were alone, he cozied up just fine. We played cars and watched cartoons.
On Sunday, all of us headed for Yellowstone. At one point, we pulled off the road to check out what Peggie thought might be a bighorn sheep on the rocks. Instead, there was a meandering stream of beaver dams. I went back to get a out of the car so she could see them and T was pointing out a moose down there. The moose eventually got spooked and hid in the willows. But it was a good sighting. We couldn't see the possible sheep any more. Inside the park, we saw bison several times. Then we waited for Old Faithful to blow. Just as it started, a spotted a chipmunk and became so fascinated, that she almost missed the show. Afterward, we went inside Old Faithful Lodge and were awed by the architecture of the lobby area. Can't describe it. You have to go see it.
On the way back home, we saw a grizzly in the wild, elk, and deer. We also got the traditional bison walking sedately in the road causing a traffic jam. At this time, a was riding with us and as it got dark she suggested we count roadside crosses. She rode with us part of the way down and we had explained to her about playing "cows" on road trips as kids. We had also explained to her the purpose of the white crosses by the road. There were a lot of them. We surmised that the combination of narrow winding road, skiers heading home, and deer crossing the road, contributed to making this a deadly stretch. Anyway, it was getting dark and she needed something to keep her interest, so we counted crosses. When it became apparent that, as driver, I had the advantage, I was banned from playing. So Peggie gave her a five cross handicap, and they played. It is a macabre thing to make a game of, but it kept a awake.
Monday, GajT had to leave at 8:30 to catch a plane, so Peggie and I stayed to clean the condo we were in. We got on the road at about noon. We had heard that the area around Missoula was pretty, so we headed over there on I-90. Right away we saw a bald eagle on a utility pole. Then we decided to take some scenic red roads and we were rewarded with sightings of turkeys, pronghorns, elk, and deer.
Leaving Missoula on Tuesday, we headed south on US 93. We saw elk and lots and lots of pronghorns. We had just remarked to each other that we never see antelope crossing the road, when coming around a hill, we had to brake to avoid hitting four antelope crossing the road. We drove over the continental divide into Idaho and spent the night in Hailey, just south of the Sun Valley ski area. The next day, going back to Cedar City, was our only driving day with no wildlife sightings.
We made it home Thursday night after stopping for dinner with Casey and her roommate, Laura in Tempe. We saw one deer outside Kanab, enjoyed the colors on route 14 again (they were beyond spectacular) and amid all the warning signs on I-17 south of Flagstaff, spotted a herd of elk just before dropping into Verde Valley. Sorry, family, by then we were ready to be home in our own bed.
This was a fun trip. We got some good time with GajT, and heard T perform, which is always a treat. The scenery was spectacular with mountains, canyons and fall colors and wildlife was abundant. Roads in MT and ID tend to follow rivers, so plenty of running water. And farmland. Lots and lots of farmland. Hay, wheat, potatoes, corn and cows. The area appears prosperous. Bozeman is a beautiful city. And we had no mis-adventures of the mechanical kind. Though we had to brake once for antelope and twice for deer in the road, we didn't hit anything. Not even the sedate bison who made us go around him in the other lane.
We left reasonably early on Sunday with the goal of reaching Cedar City, UT for the first night's stay. The first surprise came at the junction of 89 and 89a near Page. The road (89) to Page was still closed due to the massive rock slide that I had forgotten about. So, we happily took the slightly longer route over the Kaibab Plateau. Along the way we had been treated to some beautiful fall colors, which continued to impress us as we entered the canyon north of Kanab. But the real autumn treat was route 14 to Cedar City. Every shade of yellow, gold, orange, and red alongside the evergreens and the multi-hued sandstone. And, to make it perfect, a deer in the road and a herd of elk in the woods.
Next morning we hit I-15 and headed north. The speed limit along the rural stretches is 80 mph. Apparently, that is fast enough for everybody, because with cruise control set at 80, nobody passed us. We saw beaucoup pronghorns (aka antelope) in the fields and rangeland all day. We also saw a school bus sailing along at high speed on a road parallel to the highway, but invisible due to the high grasses. It was weird. We took a scenic detour around SLC just for the fun of it, and got more beautiful fall color in the scenic canyons. But we missed a turn and ended up catching I-15 again in downtown SLC. Still, we arrived in Idaho Falls before dark and checked in to a hotel. It was right on the Snake River, which has a beautiful walking park along the namesake falls. We walked to a dinner place and back, arriving just after dark. After driving all day, a nice walk is perfect.
The plan for Tuesday was to arrive in Bozeman around 1:00pm. But we decided to detour through Yellowstone since it was so close. I have my old farts' card (aka Senior Pass) which gets us into national parks for free. Peggie also got one at the entrance, since she, too, is now old enough to qualify. In the park, we saw only bison as far as wildlife is concerned, but we stopped to walk around a hot spot called Artists' Paint Pots. Again, a nice walk, and, of course the name comes from all the mineral colors surrounding the bubbling waters. Exiting to the north, we encountered a construction zone that held us up for a while. We were having a nice conversation with the flag person about the strange people one encounters when a women from several cars back in line walked up and asked, "What's going on?" To which the flag person replied, "Just a little road construction." The young women countered with, "But they're telling everyone the road is open." The flag person informed her that the road was, indeed, open, but there would be a few minutes delay. The woman returned to her car. Where do people come from, who don't know what a construction delay is?
We exited the park at Gardiner (north exit) and caught the interstate at Livingston. West of Livingstone there are several domestic bison herds in pastures. Also taking advantage of the green fields along there were elk, deer, and pronghorn herds. Not domesticated.
So, we arrived in Bozeman about 5:30, much to a's chagrin. She wanted to see us at 1:00. Little j doesn't know the difference, so he was standoffish, anyway.
Wanting to be good grandparents, we had several child-friendly outings planned for our days in Bozeman. We tried to go to Lewis and Clark Caverns about 40 miles west but the caverns were closed for the winter. So we headed back with two sleeping children in the truck with nothing to show for the drive except learning that there is a breed of cow called a Red Angus. Who knew?
We decided to go east of Bozeman a few miles to the Montana Grizzly Encounter. It was a tacky little roadside attraction based on the owners' attempt to rescue grizzly bears from bad situations and to use them to educate the public. We observed four bears and heard all about the grizzly. They have an enclosure that is woefully small for bears, but large and natural enough that it is more like the Desert Museum than like other zoos. We got the idea they do the best they can with good intentions and limited funds.
Friday night, I got to go to the performance called "Wine, Women and Song." T played piano for a pair of sopranos and the audience tasted wines from Italy, Germany, and America, as music from those areas was performed. The setting was a private home on the edge of town. Very wealthy patrons of the arts.
Next day, we took the kids and G to the Museum of the Rockies. There, we learned about dinosaurs. That was a fun time for all of us. Even j found things to hold his interest. In case you didn't know, some of the dinosaurs were VERY BIG! That night, G and a and Peggie went to the performance while I sat with j. He was still being standoffish, but as soon as we were alone, he cozied up just fine. We played cars and watched cartoons.
On Sunday, all of us headed for Yellowstone. At one point, we pulled off the road to check out what Peggie thought might be a bighorn sheep on the rocks. Instead, there was a meandering stream of beaver dams. I went back to get a out of the car so she could see them and T was pointing out a moose down there. The moose eventually got spooked and hid in the willows. But it was a good sighting. We couldn't see the possible sheep any more. Inside the park, we saw bison several times. Then we waited for Old Faithful to blow. Just as it started, a spotted a chipmunk and became so fascinated, that she almost missed the show. Afterward, we went inside Old Faithful Lodge and were awed by the architecture of the lobby area. Can't describe it. You have to go see it.
On the way back home, we saw a grizzly in the wild, elk, and deer. We also got the traditional bison walking sedately in the road causing a traffic jam. At this time, a was riding with us and as it got dark she suggested we count roadside crosses. She rode with us part of the way down and we had explained to her about playing "cows" on road trips as kids. We had also explained to her the purpose of the white crosses by the road. There were a lot of them. We surmised that the combination of narrow winding road, skiers heading home, and deer crossing the road, contributed to making this a deadly stretch. Anyway, it was getting dark and she needed something to keep her interest, so we counted crosses. When it became apparent that, as driver, I had the advantage, I was banned from playing. So Peggie gave her a five cross handicap, and they played. It is a macabre thing to make a game of, but it kept a awake.
Monday, GajT had to leave at 8:30 to catch a plane, so Peggie and I stayed to clean the condo we were in. We got on the road at about noon. We had heard that the area around Missoula was pretty, so we headed over there on I-90. Right away we saw a bald eagle on a utility pole. Then we decided to take some scenic red roads and we were rewarded with sightings of turkeys, pronghorns, elk, and deer.
Leaving Missoula on Tuesday, we headed south on US 93. We saw elk and lots and lots of pronghorns. We had just remarked to each other that we never see antelope crossing the road, when coming around a hill, we had to brake to avoid hitting four antelope crossing the road. We drove over the continental divide into Idaho and spent the night in Hailey, just south of the Sun Valley ski area. The next day, going back to Cedar City, was our only driving day with no wildlife sightings.
We made it home Thursday night after stopping for dinner with Casey and her roommate, Laura in Tempe. We saw one deer outside Kanab, enjoyed the colors on route 14 again (they were beyond spectacular) and amid all the warning signs on I-17 south of Flagstaff, spotted a herd of elk just before dropping into Verde Valley. Sorry, family, by then we were ready to be home in our own bed.
This was a fun trip. We got some good time with GajT, and heard T perform, which is always a treat. The scenery was spectacular with mountains, canyons and fall colors and wildlife was abundant. Roads in MT and ID tend to follow rivers, so plenty of running water. And farmland. Lots and lots of farmland. Hay, wheat, potatoes, corn and cows. The area appears prosperous. Bozeman is a beautiful city. And we had no mis-adventures of the mechanical kind. Though we had to brake once for antelope and twice for deer in the road, we didn't hit anything. Not even the sedate bison who made us go around him in the other lane.
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